Ready to downsize and declutter your life for retirement but packing up all of your memories and processions seems like an overwhelming task?  

We’re taking the stress out of your downsizing journey, providing our top tips to make your transition to retirement at Samford Grove as smooth as possible. 

Start early and plan ahead 

Planning and early preparation are key to ensuring the downsizing journey is as easy as possible. Create a calendar and set dates on when you will start the packing process. Define what goals you would like to achieve each day and reach out and ask for help, whether that be friends, family or neighbours.  

Emotional ties 

You’ve made the decision to sell your home and start your new life at Samford Grove. Where do you even start?!  

Decluttering your life and packing up your home for sale can be an emotional time and bring back memories of family and loved ones. It can take courage to simplify your life, but its important to remember to keep the memories and not the clutter. As you sort through items in the home, separate your possessions from most important to least. It might also be a great opportunity to donate things to those in need, or pass on some sentimental items to family and grandchildren. A great way to organize what you will keep and what will go to a new home is to create four separate piles: 

  • Keep 
  • Give to family 
  • Donate 
  • Discard 

Visit your new home at Samford Grove before moving in 

This is an exciting time in your life, enjoyed by many for new opportunities to redefine your lifestyle and make new friendships. It can be daunting to leave your old neighbourhood for a new one. A great way to feel at home is to visit the area before your move in date. This will ensure you are familiar with all the amenities and facilities as well as a great chance to see where you can catch up with new-found friends for coffee.  

Bring in the professionals 

A great way to lighten your downsizing load is to enlist the help of downsizing specialists and removalists that can simplify the packing process and also find the best ways to make the most of your new living spaces. You’ll feel the weight lifted from your shoulders, so that you can save your energy to focus on the new life you will be creating at Samford Grove. 

If you’re looking for a recommendation – our teams know some great local businesses to help with your move.  

Have fun! 

The downsizing journey is a chance to celebrate an exciting new chapter in your life and although you may be saying goodbye to your family home, you’re opening the door to an exciting new life, where the opportunities for an independent, active and fulfilling life are endless. 

With no compromise on superior quality, Samford Grove sets a new standard of luxury retirement living. Our apartments and homes offer everything the modern downsizer needs.    

At Samford Grove, choose between established homes, brand-new villas, townhomes or apartments – there’s something to suit every lifestyle. 

To find out how you can downsize to Samford Grove, call us on 07 3289 3372 or fill in this contact form. 

While the coronavirus isolation measures have bought us time we didn’t even know we had, it comes with its own pitfalls as we make decisions on what we want to fill out time with. It’s not very often that everything grinds to a halt like this, so rest assured if you’re struggling to stay occupied and engaged while self-isolating, you’re not alone.

Humans are naturally social creatures and we love to fill our days with friends, family and fun. But what do you do when we can’t get out and about to fulfil that social craving? For those living in retirement communities, where the social aspect of village life is abundant and important, this might be an especially tricky time.

 

Here are some tried and tested ideas to help you through:

Put together a list of boredom busters
Boredom busters can be a quick fix for those moments where you’d rather be having a cuppa at the community centre! Board games, word searches, riddles and crosswords are all great ways to keep yourself occupied and learn a few new things for future trivia nights along the way. Check out the stationery aisle of your local supermarket, the app store on your smartphone (if you have one) or sites like The New Daily and TheWordSearch.com for online versions.

Travel from the comfort of your home
Are you planning your post-isolation holiday, or simply want to see the sights without leaving your armchair? There are plenty of resources on YouTube that can take you all over the world, as well as websites like Random Street View that will take you from the farmlands of Ireland to the hustle and bustle of downtown Madrid.

Engage with your family
Just because you’re separated doesn’t mean you can’t connect! There are so many innovative ways to keep in touch with your loved ones these days – video call your family so you can see their faces, pick up the phone to have a quick chat, send them a message on social media or even write personalised letters. The possibilities are endless.

Spruce up your gardens or start a veggie patch
Do you enjoy gardening? Now is the perfect time to prune and trim to your heart’s content – if you have plants that are easy to propagate you can always take some cuttings of your favourites and watch them take root. You could also try starting a little veggie patch or a crop of herbs in your home.

Update or revisit your photo albums, trinkets and memories
As we lead busy lives (especially during retirement!), we don’t often get the chance to stop and smell the roses, reminisce and reflect. Inevitably, life will go back to normal and our schedules will fill up again – so why not organise that photo album, print or develop your latest memories or have a look through that box of trinkets in the cupboard. You never know what wonderful memory you’ll stumble upon.

Visit museums and galleries virtually
If you love arts and culture, then this one’s for you! Google Arts & Culture has pages upon pages of art for your viewing pleasure – you can search by artist, art style and even the time period to narrow down your search and feast your eyes. You can even tour museums virtually as though you were actually there! 

Explore music and podcasts
If there’s one sure fire way to lift the mood or evoke a sense of nostalgia, it’s  music! Pop on a record or CD or listen to your favourite radio station while you cook, clean or simply relax. There are also plenty of great on-demand streaming services, like Spotify, where you can listen to whatever you like, whenever you like. Plus, it has a huge range of podcasts about pretty much any topic you can think of – and the big bonus is that it’s free if you don’t mind a few ads!

Learn a language
Have you ever wanted to learn a foreign language, perhaps from the country your parents and grandparents descended from? Now could be the time! With applications like Duolingo and Babbel on smartphones making learning so accessible, it’s never been easier to diversify your language skills. Apart from these apps, there are also a wide array of online resources – you can even get a book delivered to your door from Booktopia if that’s what you’d prefer!

Cook or bake something new
With so many resources at your disposal, isolation may be the perfect time to try something new in the kitchen! Is there a cake or dessert you’ve never quite perfected, or a certain type of ingredient you’d love to learn to cook with? Not to mention, you can get your groceries delivered to your door via Coles and Woolworths priority services or numerous other delivery services that are helping people through the isolation period.

Check in with your neighbours (virtually)
A quick phone call to a neighbour never goes astray and keeping in touch with those in your own community is of utmost importance right now. Give someone on the other side of the village to you a bell, or check in with them via email or on social media – and don’t forget you can keep up to date via the Samford Grove page on Facebook!

 

However you’re spending this time of self-isolation, we hope you can find a silver lining by doing the things you really enjoy and connecting with the world around you in innovative and interesting ways.